February 2013

I’m pretty sure the title of this post says it all. My definition of year is a bit hazy though, seeing as we’re already into February 2013. But seriously, this game is hands down the best of the bunch, and I’ve played a few. I’ve actually played quite a lot of games over the past year, I just haven’t blogged about them as there was nothing memorable to write about. They were games and I played them. So what. You have played games too, but I’m sure you’re not blathering about it for all the world to hear. Blogging about every single game you’re playing can be a little bit like those people who update Facebook at 2am saying “I can’t sleeps, whats can i do lol!!!” Like we give a shit.

But CK2 is different. Firstly it is different in the sense that it has been receiving amazing quality updates since its release. There have been three so far:

The Sword of Islam introduced Muslim rulers and their countries, and then changed all the gameplay features to make it historically accurate. That was the DLC version that you had to pay for. But a free patch also provided new countries, empires, and core gameplay changes, (claims, plots, expanded combat tactics, commander traits and cultural buildings).

Legacy of Rome did a total flesh out of the Byzantine Empire as well as introducing factions, retinues, patriarchs, and major game events that you can unlock such as healing the Great Schism.

The Republic adds playable merchant republics such as Venice, trading posts, the Doge leadership line, more events and a good tightening of the combat system. No more will just having the larger army mean you automatically win.

But more than all of this, the game rewards you for the amount of time you put into it. There is no instant gratification here. It’s a decent learning curve, and your first few games will be frustrating as rookie mistakes compound and make your life a misery. But once you get a grip on things and learn how to manipulate your dynasty and those around you, CK2 is a game that keeps on giving. If you purchased the game on release, tried it for a bit and then gave up you should give it another look. You don’t even have to purchase the DLC packs as the patches have included the core gameplay elements such as changes to combat for free. It’s now a very different game.